The Parallel Island
by ShadowFox123
Summary: Set after the events of Advent Children, Cloud wakes up to the sound of water crashing into the shore uncertain of where he is, he mounts his bike and goes in search of civilization and comes across a city he doesn't recognise. what could all this mean?
1. Chapter 1

Cloud was in a deep sleep, dreaming about taking Tifa and the orphans to the costa rica beach, and maybe inviting some of his old companions and friends to come along. When Cloud woke up he found himself looking up at a blue sky and could hear the waves of the sea crashing into the shore. At first he didn't question his surroundings, believing he was still dreaming, seconds later after fully awaking he realised he wasn't home.

Cloud stood up and looked where the sound was coming from and saw the open sea.

"Where am I? How did I get here?" he asked himself.

Cloud turned around and was shocked to discover this was no ordinary beach, it was a beach in the middle of nowhere. There was no sign of civilization, not even a small structure in the distance. The only thing that was visible was sandy terrain that looked like it went on forever.

It didn't take long for Cloud to spot his bike nearby, without thinking he ran to it. He searched the bike for anything useful, wondering how he rode it here and why he doesn't remember. In the side compartments he found his fusion swords and noticed his bike was full of petrol.

"At least I am armed and fuelled." he told himself.

Discovering he had his weapons and bike Cloud began to feel slightly better about the situation and had a more practical attitude towards dealing with it. He pulled his phone out of one of his pockets and flipped it open, went into contacts, highlighted seventh heaven, pressed the call button then put it to his ear. There was no ring, not even a dead tone. Cloud looked at the phone and the message on the screen said "No signal".

Cloud scratched his head and gave a confused look at his phone. Cloud put his phone back in his pocket planning to try later if he could.

Cloud decided it would be best to ride his bike in one direction away from the sea to try to find somebody or something that can tell him where he is and help him get home. Cloud mounted his bike, looked behind, turned himself around and made a tyre track. Cloud took notice of the tyre track that had formed and thought it was strange there was no tyre tracks trailing behind where the bike had been sitting from the journey here, the petrol gauge being full was also strange. Cloud shook his head hard, trying to get the thoughts of all this confusion out of his head that was starting to irritate him.

"I need to focus, I wont get answers if I remain here." Cloud told himself.

Cloud pulled the ignition then the bike shot forward and sped away into the land of sand.

A few hours later Cloud was still riding through the desert and it seemed like he had barely moved, the terrain always looked the same. There were no natural rocky structures here, or hills, the land was completely flat. The climate was also unusual, the weather wasn't unbearably hot like you would expect in a place with lots of sand and no shade, it was just warm enough.

After a few more hours of riding Cloud was beginning to tire and any hope of getting back home was starting to leave him. "No matter how far I ride, there is still nothing but more sand. Is this place is some kind of prison?" Cloud asked himself beginning to loosen his grip on the bike handle that twisted back slightly making the bike travel slower. "Something is very wrong, I should of found something by now."

Just as the last thought crept in Cloud saw a welcome site in the distance. A built structure. "That looks like Midgar." Cloud thought. "But that's impossible, Midgar has been in ruins for well over 2 years." But it didn't matter what it looked like, he had finally found civilization and regained the hope he lost. Cloud twisted the bikes handle all the way like before and returned to the bikes former speed.

As Cloud got closer he realised it wasn't Midgar, although it did bare resemblance to how the ruined city use to look, surrounded by a massive ring barrier. The barrier was a thick shiny metal similar in appearance to silver except it looked more sturdy.

Cloud circled the city for a while until he found a gate into the City. He pulled the break hard causing the bike to skid across the sand then put his foot down as it stopped. Cloud looked at the gate and around it for a control panel to open it but suddenly a loud microphone screech pulsed through his ears. Cloud put his hands over them and closed his eyes tightly. When it was over he removed his hands from his ears then a voice spoke to him.

"Who is it?". The voice asked, the voice seemed to be coming from some kind of intercom installed into the gate.

Cloud was hesitant to answer. Unsure if it was wise to speak to a voice that did not show his face, but as he looked at his sandy surroundings he realised he didn't have much choice, he looked back at the gate and noticed a camera installed above it.

"Hello?" the voice asked impatiently.

"Hello." Cloud answered looking a the camera.

"Please identify yourself."

"I am Cloud."

"Cloud... Oh, Cloud! Welcome, We have been expecting you."

Cloud gave a confused look to the camera "I am expected?"

"Yes, Please come through"

The sound of moving parts noisily rang through Cloud's ears as a gap in the gate near the ground appeared and got bigger as the gate slided up the silver wall until it was big enough for Cloud to fit through. Cloud started his bike up again and sped through the gate into the city.

Cloud found the city to be much bigger than he thought it would be, the barrier outside the city made it look much smaller than it was.

"Time to look for answers," Cloud thought, "I hope someone can point me in the direction of Edge." then suddenly Cloud's stomach rumbled loudly, he looked down at it not realising until now how hungry he was. "I should eat first then look for answers." he told himself.

Cloud rode through the city looking for a car park he could leave his bike and after a short while he found one. Cloud parked in the first space he found and hastily began to walk out the car park until he saw a sign that read "NO FREE PARKING. 20 Gil per vehicle."

Panic shot through Cloud as he suddenly realised he didn't even know if he had any Gil. He checked his pockets then breathed a sigh of relief as he felt a lot of Gil in one of his pockets which was surprising as it was relieving. He pulled it out his pocket and counted it, it came to 25,000. Cloud scratched his head. "Where did all that come from?" he asked himself. "I guess it doesn't matter right now. I can buy a ticket for the parking and get some food, that's the important thing." He walked to the ticket machine, payed the 20 Gil and took the ticket the machine produced.

He walked back over to his bike and took the swords out of their compartments and merged them together to create the fusion sword and put it in his sword belt. He didn't expect he would run into trouble here, but knew it was better to be safe than sorry. He made sure the bike was secure then left the car park

As he walked along the pavement, keeping a lookout for places to eat he began to ask himself questions about what happened at the gates. "How did they know I was coming? Why would they be expecting me? How do they know my name? And who exactly are they? Are they friends or foes? Are they going to come and find me? If so when and how?" There were so many questions Cloud wanted answers too and hoped they would be answered soon. To say it had been a strange day would be an understatement, Cloud was beginning to wonder if this was Sephiroth's doing, that he had somehow come back again and was trying to confuse him. He doubted it but he wasn't going to rule that out just yet.

Suddenly his eyes spotted a restaurant across the road causing him to run over to it without even looking to see if there were cars coming, which luckily were not. He opened the doors and entered.

The restaurant was small but was big enough for the owners to fit six picnic tables in and still move around easily if they wanted to. There were stools customers could sit on that were near where the food was being cooked, it reminded Cloud of Midgar's Sector six wall market restaurant. As Cloud walked to the stools some of the children in the restaurant took notice of his sword and began to point and admire it as he walked by them. When Cloud had sat down on one of the free stools a middle aged lady approached him who was behind the counter and asked "What will it be?"

Cloud looked up at the menu. Most of the names of what was available on the menu were unfamiliar to Cloud but when he saw that they had chicken and rice his stomach began to ache harder than it ever had before . "I'll have the large bowl of Chicken and Rice."

"That's 80 Gil please." Cloud reached into his pocket and handed her the Gil. "Thanks, it shouldn't take long."

The lady went away to get the bowl of food and returned quickly with it. She placed the food in front of him then reached under the till and gave him chop sticks.

"Thanks." Cloud smiled looking down at the delicous food in front of him. He grabbed the chop sticks and wolfed the food down as quickly as he could, in no time at all the bowl was empy and he was nearly stuffed. He let out a breathe of appreciation for the food then the lady who had noticed Cloud had finished eating came and collected his empty bowl then began to walk back into the kitchen.

"Excuse me?" Cloud called to her.

She turned around and said "Yes?"

"Do you know the way to the city Edge?"

"Edge." she repeated to herself quietly, looking confused. "Sorry, I've never heard of it."

"Never heard of it?" Cloud said quietly looking at her in disbelief.

"Sorry, no."

Cloud could tell from her facial expression she was being serious and didn't know where Edge was. He got off his stool and said "Okay, thanks anyway."

"Have a nice day." she said then walked into the kitchen.

Cloud exited the restaurant with many of the young sword admirers taking notice as he walked past. Cloud was confused as to how Edge could be unknown to someone when it was built to house the people of Midgar after meteor nearly destroyed thw whole of Gaia. Cloud soon put the thought out of his mind telling himself there were others he could ask.

Cloud decided to continue walking in the same direction he was before he spotted the restaurant. After walking for a few minutes he spotted a newspaper stand. He smiled as he thought that he could find out where he was by looking at a newspaper. As he approached the newspaper booth the news distributor nodded at him, Cloud nodded back then picked up the newspaper and held it up so he could read it.

"Hey!" the news distributor said loudly. Cloud looked at him, surprised by his raised voice. "Don't think just because your a mercenary you get things for free. You pay 50 Gil like everyone else"

Cloud was unsure why the distributor thought he was a mercenary, other than the sword he was carrying but Cloud didn't waste time arguing with him, he reached into his pocket, pulled out some Gil and gave the man what he wanted. Cloud moved away from the stand with his newspaper and looked at the front page.

"Christle City news." Cloud read, "So that's where this is huh? Why haven't I ever heard of it?" Cloud looked at the top for a date of distribution but there was none. He scanned through the rest of the newspaper knowing it was far less likely it would be there either and still found no date. Confused Cloud walked back to the stand.

"Excuse me?" Cloud asked the news distributor. The news distributors eyes moved and gave Cloud his attention. "Where's the date of distribution in here?" Cloud asked pointing at the newspaper.

"Date of distribution?" he asked.

"Yeah."

The man massaged his chin with his thumb and index finger, looking deep in thought, after a moment he said "I am not sure what you mean"

Cloud felt an almost over bearing urge to slap his palm on his forehead in defeat and frustration as to how someone could not understand what he meant by "date of distribution." Cloud was close to losing his patience after the day he's had so far and was in no mood for jokes.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" Cloud asked trying to remain calm but not convincingly "I'm not in the mood right now, so tell me what I want to know!"

Unbeknownst to Cloud Some of the pedestrians nearby were starting to shoot concerned looks at them both. The distributor looked clueless and slightly intimidated.

"Look pal, I don't know what your problem is, this no joke, I am being serious, I don't know what your talking about." the distributor said sounding frightened.

"The numbers that tell you what day, month and year it was when something was distributed." Cloud said slower while aggressively poking the part of the paper where the date usually was.

Before the man could answer Cloud got patted on the shoulder. Cloud turned around aggressivly and saw the patter who was with two men who were standing behind him on both of sides. They each wore a helmet and uniform that reminded Cloud of the uniform Shinra troopers wore, except the difference was the helmet looked more advanced technologically and protection wise, and white stripes that went down the middle of the sleeves and the helmet.

"Can I... Help you?" Cloud asked sounding more calm.

"Sounds to me like your the one needing help." the leader put bluntly. "I take it your Cloud?"

"How do you know my name?" Cloud asked sounding his usual self again.

"The one you spoke to at the gates was my colleague. We have been asked to collect you and take you somewhere"

"Take me where?"

"Somewhere else." he answered bluntly

Cloud let out a breath of frustration, he wasn't planning on cooperating with them.

"Look, don't you think it is strange we knew you were coming to our city? Don't you want to get home?"

Clouds eyes widened. "How do you know about my home?"

"We know many things about you, we know you've never been to this city before. If you want to get home you need to come with us. If you don't then you'll never get home. What will it be?"

Cloud sighed, "Okay, I will come with you." he didn't like it but, right now this was his only option.

The leader turned around and began walking in the same direction that Cloud was walking before he spotted the Newspaper stand. Cloud followed him and ignored the people that were still watching him because of the incident with news distributor. The other two troopers followed closely behind him.

Not even 5 minutes later a car beeped from their side of the road. The leader waved at the driver and made way for the car to come partially on to the pavement as did everyone else. The car was black and shiny with a boot as big as the rest of the car. The leader opened the back passenger door that was on the pavements side and gestured Cloud to get in. Cloud looked hesitant and it was picked up on by the leader and the other troopers.

"Are you getting in?" the leader asked.

"I can't" Cloud said not taking his eyes from the car door.

"Why not?" the leader asked almost sounding annoyed.

"My sword wont fit in there." Cloud answered, looking at him.

The leader gave a look to the troopers behind Cloud, one of them shrugged and the other grinned. The leader grinned, looked at Cloud and said "That's a problem that's easily fixed, we can fit it into the boot. Just give it to one of those two over there."

One of the troopers stepped forward with his hand out stretched saying nothing.

Cloud ignored the trooper and looked hesitant still at the leader, not liking the idea of not having his sword with him.

"Look Cloud you need to trust us, when we no longer need the car, when we arrive where we're taking you, the sword will be returned to you, I promise." the leader reassured him

Cloud knew that if he refused them they would turn on him then he'd have to fight and since this was possibly the only way he could get answers that would be a bad move. He looked at the trooper with his hand stretched out, took his sword from its belt and said "Careful, its heavy."

The leader smiled as Cloud gave the trooper his sword. The trooper with the sword carried it to the boot and put it in with little difficulty, amazing Cloud. The leader who was still stood by the open door gestured Cloud to get in once again. Cloud ducked his head as he got in the passenger seat of the car. The leader shut the door and went to the other side of the car by running round the front. He opened the other back passenger door, sat next to Cloud then shut the door. Cloud and the leader felt the boot slam shut as the trooper pulled it down.

"Okay driver" the leader said, "Take us to where we need to go."

The driver waited for a few cars to come pass, put the car back on the road and continued driving. Cloud crossed his arms and hoped he had made the right decision.


	2. Chapter 2

Twenty minutes had gone by since the car had arrived and picked Cloud and the lead trooper up. Cloud was looking out the window, tapping the sill feeling irritated by what was going on, "What is up with this guy?" Cloud thought as he looked at the troop leader who was looking out the window on his side. "Why is he being so secretive about where we are going? And how does he and who he works for know so much about me?" Cloud turned his head back and looked out the window, "Nothing makes sense, I know I went to sleep in my own bed last night so how did I end up waking up in middle of nowhere?" He asked himself, for what seemed to be for the millionth time.

The troop leader hadn't spoke since they had set off for where ever it was they were going and from the way he was sitting it was clear he was trying to avoid any further interaction with Cloud. This only added to the irritation Cloud was feeling then suddenly something inside of Cloud snapped "I can't take this silence any more."

"Hey." Cloud said loudly looking over at the lead trooper. No answer. "Hey!" Cloud said louder, leaning over then lightly shaking his arm. The troop leader turned his head to Cloud and despite wearing a helmet that covered half his face Cloud could see he was not pleased he had reached over and grabbed him.

"I need answers."

"Don't we all" the leader responded turning back to the window .

"Look," Cloud insisted angrily, "I have been asking myself question after question since before I got to this city. I came with you because you said I wouldn't be able to get home without your help. I have cooperated with you so the least you could do is tell me who you work for."

The lead trooper who had looked back at Cloud while he was in the middle of speaking turned and looked into the rear mirror of the car at the reflection of the driver who was shooting a concerned look at what was going on in the back of his car. The lead trooper nodded at him to let him know everything was all right then turned back to Cloud.

"I guess your right." he said surprising Cloud. "I guess we can tell you who we work for. We work for the great king Perlaxes." he said proudly.

"A king?" Cloud questioned.

"Yeah, a king. What is so confusing about that?"

"There are no kings in Gaia." Cloud said insistently, "I have travelled across the whole of Gaia before so I would know."

"Not the 'whole' of it, it would seem." he said mockingly. If you had, you would know how to get back home from here right? Anyway the king wants to meet you so we are taking you to him."

"Right." Cloud said in a quiet voice feeling more confused if that was even possible. "What does he want with me?"

"How should I know," he said turning away to the window again. "I just work for him, I don't ask questions."

Cloud wasn't sure if the lead trooper was telling the truth. Why would a king go to all this trouble to meet him? Cloud doubted he just wanted to give him directions back home, there would be other reasons.

"How did you know I was coming?"

"Well...

"Leader, We're at the palace." the driver interrupted.

"Okay." he responded loudly.

The car began to slow down then the driver took Cloud's half of the car over the curb and stopped.

With his hand gripping the handle of the door on his side the Lead trooper said "Lets not keep the King waiting."

"Why did the journey have to end just as I was getting somewhere," Cloud thought frustratingly as the leader got out the car. "I was so close."

Cloud got out of the car and looked up at the building they called a palace. The best word to describe it was 'Gigantic' the width, length and height were on a bigger scale than Cloud had ever seen. The windows were big enough to make the ones in churches like Aerith's look tiny in comparison. The walls on the bottom storey were a dark brown colour while the rest of the building was silver. The strange thing about this structure was that it was in not shaped like a palace, its was rectangular like most city buildings. Cloud was amazed.

Cloud heard a loud noise coming from nearby, looking to his left, down the road where it was coming from he noticed the troop leader who was standing close by also looking. As it got closer he recognised it, motorcycles. Suddenly two of them flew by at impressive speed but still managed to stop a few metres in front of where the car had parked. the riders were the troops that were with the leader earlier. Cloud immediately recognised them. Cloud was astonished by the speed and brake strength of the bikes, "Whoever made those bikes are truly talented" he thought to himself but couldn't help wonder why he would of never heard of bikes with that much power.

The troopers dismounted their bikes, put them on their bike rests and walked to Cloud and the troop leader, the troop leader approached Cloud and said "Lets get going." then turned to the entrance.

"Wait a second!" Cloud shouted as the leader took a step away.

The leader stopped, turned around and said "What now?"

"I thought you said that when we no longer need the car, my sword would be returned to me."

The trooper looked surprised as if he was counting on Cloud not to remember the sword. "Oh yeah! I did say that didn't I? Sorry about this but I forgot that they don't allow weapons to be carried around in this building."

"I'm not leaving my sword behind." Cloud said insistently.

"That's fine, I don't expect you to. You can take your sword, but they will want you to give it to them through security. It's to ensure the kings safety, I am sure you understand?"

Cloud nodded, he understood but doubted the leader had forgotten, he had just made that promise before so Cloud would get in the car.

The leader looked over at the two troopers and said "Give Cloud his sword." One of them nodded then went to the boot of the car and opened it. He reached in, took the sword by the handle and lifted it as if it was a regular piece of luggage.

"How is it they have the strength to lift the weight of my sword when they are regular foot soldiers?" Cloud thought to himself.

The trooper gently placed the flat side of the sword against the car, closed the boot then picked it back up. He walked to Cloud and offered him the sword. Cloud took it by the handle and thanked him. the trooper stayed silent, then walked back next to his guard partner.

"Now we have that sorted, please follow me." the leader said turning to the entrance again.

Cloud placed his sword back in its belt and followed the troop leader while the two troopers followed behind Cloud.

Seconds after entering the building Cloud's eyes had already begun to explore the surroundings. The room was a yellowish white. There were many paintings on the walls, most if not all were of children looking out of the painting, pulling different expressions that reflected what was happening in the background such as a boy grinning widely and in the background there were large mountains, vegetation, a clear sky and a sun shining down on everything. But in another the same boy was crying while a village was burning in the background.

"You a fan of art?" the leader shouted to Cloud.

Cloud was so distracted by the painting he had not realised he had stopped following him. "Not usually," Cloud replied turning away from the paintings "the paintings here feel different from the few I have seen."

"How so?" The leader asked looking up at them.

"I don't know, the children in these paintings seem so... real."

"That's no surprise, that's the great work of Dr Zerbert, the king's artist. Many have claimed they feel a connection to the children in the paintings for different reasons, some claim its because it mirrors something that happened in their lives, but we're getting distracted here, the king may grow impatient so lets get moving."

"All right." Cloud said, thinking "I'm growing impatient too, for answers."

They walked further into the room and approached the security barrier. The leader turned to Cloud and said "There is the security," pointing at a desk with a young man who looked barely eighteen sitting behind it. "Take your sword and any other weapons your carrying to that area and then you'll be clear to meet the king."

"Okay." Cloud said and started to walk over to the desk while thinking it was strange they would put someone who looked so young and inexperienced in a security job. As he got closer he noticed cameras attached to the wall behind the desk that had machine guns attached. He quickly concluded that they were the real security. The cameras took notice of Cloud and began to target their weapons on him which made him feel uncomfortable. The young man who was staring into the computer screen on his desk immediately took notice of Cloud and said "Dropping off your weapons?"

"That's right."

"I'll just get the door for you."

He reached under the desk and pushed a button that made a door that was disguised as part of the wall push out and slide to the left, revealing a doorway.

"Go in and place your weapons where you please." the young man ordered Cloud.

Cloud walked to the opening and entered the room then began to look for a space to put his sword. As he walked through the long room he admired some of the familiar and strange shaped weapons that were stashed here. Cloud put his sword in a space he found and felt a sadness as he put it there, he didn't realise it until he gave one of his troopers his sword, but, he had grown attached to it, ever since he first laid his hands on it and had never had to part with it before. As Cloud was about to walk away another sword caught his eye, he recognised it in the corner of his eye but still couldn't believe it, he turned his gaze on it completely to make sure he wasn't mistaken and sure enough it was the buster sword.

"What's this doing here?" Cloud wondered reaching for the handle to make sure it was real. Cloud was certain this was the buster sword, but it couldn't be the same sword he left to mark Zack's grave, it had rusted some time ago, but he was also certain that the buster sword was unique and had no copies. "Things just keep getting weirder and weirder" Cloud thought to himself himself. "I need to find out who the sword belongs to."

Cloud rushed towards the exit of the room desiring to find out who the owner was right away. As he was about to come through the doorway the Troop leader appeared, stopping Cloud in his tracks.

"Are you done yet?"

"Yeah," Cloud answered, "I need to speak to the security guy at the desk though."

"We have wasted enough time as it is besides, he's not even there at the moment."

Cloud looked round the leader, the desk was empty. Cloud let out a frustrated growl surprising the leader.

"Is there something wrong?"

Cloud thought about telling him but knew he wouldn't understand why he was being this way about a sword so he said "Nothing."

"Okay, lets get going then."

A frustrated Cloud followed the troop leader through the security barrier with the other two troopers following behind him to a elevator that travels through a tube. The troop leader took out a key and put it in the control panels key hole calling the elevator to them. The elevator was circular and very large, it could fit a dozen people inside. After they all entered the leader turned to cloud and said "Grab a hold of something, this thing goes extremely fast." Cloud took his advice and gripped a nearby railing then the troop leader pressed a button out the dozens that were on the control panel that caused the doors to close and the elevator to start moving. The sudden shock of power the elevator produced when it started to move caused Cloud to nearly fall over. This was no ordinary elevator, not only was it so fast it felt like a ride at the gold saucer, it went sideways, diagonal ways and every other way you can think of. After just under a minute the elevator arrived at its destination.

The leader stepped out of the elevator first with Cloud following and the other two troopers behind him. The building looked different here, the walls were an oak brown colour and the floors were crimson red. As they walked to where cloud would meet the king, the leader made conversation.

"What do you think of the palace Cloud?"

The question and tone it was asked made Cloud suddenly remember how different the troop leader was acting before they arrived here. "It's nice, but does it need to be so big?"

"The obvious answer would be a no but kings are generally obsessed with size as is the case with many people wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah, but there is big then there is this."

"The king only wants the best. The whole of the army lives here with him and we are a very big army believe me and we still don't fill the place up. some of the floors here have probably gone unvisited for some time as well since no one uses them."

Before he didn't seem to want to interact with Cloud but now he had become more friendly. "I wonder how big it is distance wise. I bet it took years to build this place?"

"Heh, weirdly no one knows the answers to any of those questions. It's a complete mystery."

But Cloud was about to meet the king and get answers so Cloud decided it wasn't important enough to wonder about. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know, that's just the way it is. Have to admit, apart from the size part, I never would of expected someone like you to be interested in any of this stuff."

"Like me?" Cloud asked looking clueless.

"Yeah you know, the kind of guy that walks around with a massive sword..."

"I'm not usually, I've just never been inside a building like this before."

"Very few have." He responded. "Here we are. The kings room."

Cloud looked up at the big double doors before him that reached to the ceiling, they looked very chunky, it would take a great deal of effort to force them open. The leader walked to the panel on the wall that was near the door, it required a key. He took the same key he used at the elevator and put it in the lock, turned it and spoke into the panel's microphone.

"My lord, we have brought Cloud to you as you requested."

Suddenly the doors started to open slowly. Cloud was beginning to get a bad feeling about this, but he couldn't turn back now, this could be the only way he could get back to Edge. When the doors had fully opened Cloud saw no one had opened them, they had been opened by some invisible force. Cloud stayed standing where he was as if he was waiting for permission to enter.

"Go right in." The leader insisted. "You want to find your way home don't you?"

Cloud looked at the leader with a helpless expression, he didn't want to go in because something felt off, but knew he had to because like the leader said, he wanted to get home, no, he had to get home. As Cloud entered he looked around the room but couldn't see anyone, the room had a red carpet and royal green wallpaper.

The doors suddenly slammed shut, shocking Cloud, causing him to turn round.

"So your Cloud?" a soft otherworldly voice behind him asked.

Cloud turned and saw a man standing there that wasn't before. He had his back to Cloud, seemingly admiring a painting on his wall. The man had a muscular physic, thick silver hair that went down the back and sides of his head, down to his shoulders.

"Yeah. I'm Cloud. How do you know me?"

"I am the king of this land. It's my business to know everything about those who come here, and you interest me a great deal Cloud."

"Why?"

"That's easy, because you managed to defeated the greatest soldier in existence not once, not twice but three times. The great Sephiroth."

"How do you know about that?"

"Like I said, It's my business to know."

"I see." Cloud said realising it was useless to try to get a straight answer out of this guy.

"Cloud. Do you know who I am?"

"I know your name and title but other than that nothing. Look I don't have time for this I really need to get back home."

Perlaxes chuckled madly shocking Cloud. "Relax Cloud. Tifa, Marlene and Denzel wont even realise your gone, no one will."

"What do you mean by that?" Cloud asked, beginning to get angry.

"Do you even know where you are? Or maybe you should wonder where you aren't?" he asked provoking him further.

"Enough of these games Perlaxes," Cloud snapped, taking a step towards him, "Tell me what is going on, tell me all you know."

Perlaxes let out another loud chuckle that had more madness in it than the last. "Okay Cloud, but your not going to like it."

Perlaxes began to turn around slowly revealing his face but keeping his eyes closed. When his face was fully in Cloud's view Cloud thought he recognised it, then the king opened his eyes and revealed the green eyes with a cat like slit that Cloud all too well recognised that made the fear and hate inside him for Sephiroth pulse through his body causing it to shake.

"Cloud, I will ask you again. Where do you think you are?"

Cloud said nothing, he was too overwhelmed to answer.

"I will tell you." he said, seeming to enjoy this more every second. "You are in a place where a town called Edge doesn't exist, where a girl called Marlene doesn't exist. Where a woman called Aerith never existed. Do you understand now?"

"Shut up! Sephiroth!" he shouted, clinching his fists. "You can't fool me that easily."

"Sephiroth?" Perlaxes chuckled. "What makes you say that?"

"Don't play dumb, you both talk the same and almost look the same, there's no way anyone could look that much like him and not be him. I know this one of your illusions, so you may as well take us back because I know this isn't real."

"You do amuse me." Perlaxes said coldly with a smile. "But I can't take you back because this is no illusion and I am not Sephiroth, this is exactly what I told you, a place where..."

"I told you to shut up! It doesn't matter how many times you say it I wont believe you!"

"I thought you wanted answers? It's not my fault if you do not like the answers now is it?"

Cloud glared at him and said nothing.

Believe what you want to believe Cloud, but you will never get home. You will stay here forever and never get back to your planet."

Cloud's eyes widened as he let out a gasp.

"That's right Cloud, this is not your Gaia, this is my Gaia."

Cloud suddenly felt a sharp pain in the left side of his neck, he touched where the pain was coming from and felt something thin and metallic. He pulled it out and looked at it, it was some kind of metal dart.

"And in my Gaia, Cloud Strife is one of the gladiators that will spend eternity entertaining his king and his citizens."

Cloud felt like the world was beginning to shake and his vision was going blurry. The next thing he knew his body was falling to the floor then there was blackness.


	3. Chapter 3

When Cloud opened his eyes he was still feeling the effects of the drug that was in the dart he had been hit with. He wasn't fully conscious yet and his vision was blurred. The floor he was sitting on was metallic and he was lying against a thick white wall. He could hear footsteps that were echoing and getting closer. As the sound came nearer the person's shoes became more visible. Cloud tried to lift his head up to see who it was but his head felt too heavy for his neck to lift. When the person was close enough he squatted down and said "Your finally starting to wake up huh? Good. Had me worried for a second." He said warmly. Cloud thought he recognised this person's voice but he could not think where he knew it from. Almost immediately Cloud fell unconscious again.

A few hours hours later Cloud woke again. He reached for the back of his neck with one hand and his back with the other where he ached. His eyes scanned the room, he quickly concluded he was imprisoned in a cell somewhere, apart from him the cell was empty. At first Cloud was unsure what he was doing in this cell but after a few moments his mind recollected what had happened to him to get him here. At first he felt depressed, because getting back to edge was going to be impossible if what Perlaxes had said was true.

"Wait a sec!" He said snapping out of it. "What am I saying, there's no way I am going to just believe that I woke up on another planet just like that. Besides, Perlaxes looks almost identical to Sephiroth, so Perlaxes might be Sephiroth in disguise." Cloud nodded, agreeing with himself. "Sephiroth would say that this is another planet to try confuse me make me give up. Well I'm not giving up that easily." Cloud, feeling both comforted and motivated by his words he stood up ready to do what he could.

Suddenly, a loud cheer erupted through the prison, almost making Cloud jump out of his skin. It was the kind of cheer a crowd made when watching a show. Cloud walked over to the bars of his cell and looked down the cell block, where the sound of the cheer had come from. A soldier that stood nearby noticed Cloud and began to walk over.

The soldier wore a white mask and a blue uniform that was like the troopers uniform, except it looked more comfortable and had no flashy parts on it. He also wore a gun belt that contained a firearm like a pistol and on his back was a long katana, it was so long that the end of the blade hovered half an inch above the floor.

When the soldier reached the cell he asked, "So, your lord Perlaxes new favourite?"

Cloud turned his head and saw the soldier standing there. Cloud knew he worked for Perlaxes so thought it best to ignore him. He looked back where the cheers were coming from.

"Hey!" the soldier shouted, getting Cloud's attention. "Don't think because your the kings favourite your better than me. I could slice you in two right now, don't think I wont!"

Cloud was in no mood for this. Cloud glared at the soldier. He was angry but what could he do when he was behind bars with no sword? Cloud turned away, hoping the soldier would leave him alone.

The soldier quietly sniggered then shouted, "Hey boys! We got a prisoner who thinks he's a hotshot." Laughs echoed through the Cell block from other soldiers that Cloud could not see. "Maybe we should teach him a lesson." he said, lightly touching the keys that hung from a ring on his trousers that caused a light jingle.

Cloud stepped back from the bars as the soldier began to look through his keys. Cloud stood with his arms up, in front of his face and his left foot in front of the other. Cloud was no martial artist like Tifa, but he had learnt a few things from her in the last 6 months.

Just as the soldier was about to turn the key they heard a loud shout,"Hey! What have I told you about bothering the prisoners?" The soldier quickly took the key out of the door and moved away from the cell, making the keys jangle noisily against his leg as he did. He was clearly terrified.

Cloud put his arms down and took a step towards the bars to see what was going on.

"S-sorry sir, the prisoner was acting like Something special and I-"

"I don't care if he called your mother obesely ill. You don't speak to or challenge the prisoners. You don't try to enter their cells unless your superior tells you otherwise, understood?"

When the man was stood a few metres in front of the soldier, Cloud was able to see him. Cloud felt there was something familiar about him.

"Y-yes sir."

"Honestly," He sighed, "your not kids any more, your part of Perlaxes army. Act like it!"

"S-sorry sir."

"Shut up! I don't want your empty apologizes. I will report this to your captain and if you make this mistake again you will be sorry, I promise you."

The soldier stayed silent, Satisfying what the man's desire was all along.

"That's better." he said, giving the soldier an approving look. "Know when to shut up."

The man turned his head, looked at Cloud then grinned. He began to walk over to the cell. He had brown eyes and short black hair. He had a slim muscular body and was tall as Cloud.

As the man got closer Cloud began to recognise him, not his face but his movement, the way he walked. He knew who he was.

"Hello again Cloud." he said half politely, half mockingly. "Sorry about the staff, that one is still young and foolish. I take it from that look in your eyes, you have guessed who I am?"

"Yeah, I know who you are, but you never said what your name was."

"You didn't ask. If you were so interested you should of asked while I was delivering you to the king."

"I didn't think about it back then, I thought you were just one of many troopers."

"No. But that is what the king and I wanted you to believe. We couldn't send an ordinary trooper to bring you here, he or she might of failed and that's a risk we could not take with someone of your talents."

"So you knew all along what the king wanted with me, didn't you?"

"Of course, I am Jermaine, the kings right hand man after all." he said posing with pride.

Cloud angrily gripped the bars on his cell harder while grounding his teeth.

"Save your energy for the arena Cloud, your going to need as much energy as you can to survive what Perlaxes has in store for you."

"Arena?" Cloud questioned, extinguishing his anger and loosening his grip.

"Didn't the king tell you? The reason he wanted you, was to add you to his collection of gladiators in the arena." Cloud's eyes widened as he remembered the king's last words to him before the drug took effect. "He has been looking for a worthy challenger for a long time and he has finally found him, you." he explained, wearing a wide grin.

With a frustrated and determined look in his eyes Cloud said "I don't really understand what's going on here, but I wont let you or the king use me as your play thing, one way or another I will get out of here."

"You think so?" he asked, acting terrified. "That's what everyone has said including the favourite and they have either died or are still imprisoned. I would say the chances of that happening are rather slim, wouldn't you?"

"I am not giving up, that's what Sephiroth would want."

Perlaxes' right hand man gave Cloud a puzzled look and asked "Why are you speaking about Sephiroth like he is the reason your here?"

"Because I know Sephiroth, he is a master of illusions and your boss, the king sounds and looks exactly like him, so..."

Jermaine cut Cloud off by starting to laugh maniacally. The head belonging to the soldier who Jermaine was discipling earlier suddenly shifted in the direction of Perlaxes right hand who's body jumped at the sound of the outburst. Cloud was shocked for a moment then his expression changed to an irritated one as he crossed his arms.

"You are deluding yourself Cloud. I already know what your going to say and your wrong. Your right about them looking and sounding alike but Perlaxes isn't Sephiroth."

"How would you know?" Cloud asked, with a frustrated tone.

"A long time ago, Sephiroth and Perlaxes battled each other."

Cloud's eyes widened as he gasped in disbelief.

The right hand man smiled at Cloud's reaction and said. "Not only did Perlaxes challenge and fight him Cloud, the king defeated him."

Cloud couldn't believe what he was hearing, no one but Cloud had managed to defeat Sephiroth before.

"Sorry Cloud, but your wrong, they are not the same person."

Cloud didn't respond straight away, but after a moment he looked back up at Jermaine with a look of realisation in his eyes. "Although you may of seen them both fight that doesn't mean that they did fight."

"What do you mean?"

"Like I said, Sephiroth is a master of illusions, he could of created an illusion of himself then fought that illusion, disguised as Perlaxes to make you believe that Sephiroth and Perlaxes aren't the same person."

"Why would he do that when no one has ever questioned if they are the same person until you came along?" he asked, believing Cloud's theory was ridiculous.

"He was expecting me so he must of foresaw my coming, which means he would of foresaw me questioning if he was Sephiroth in disguise too. He decided to create an illusion of his true self, then challenge and defeat him as Perlaxes for you to see so that when I began to suspect who he was you would stop my suspicion by telling me about the fight." Cloud said, almost impressed he had managed to say all that.

Plagued by confusion, Jermaine looked up at the ceiling, trying to piece together what Cloud had said while massaging his chin with his thumb and index finger. Then he began to laugh maniacally again.

Cloud knew Jermaine would say or express it was nonsense but, It was impossible to not get annoyed when he laughed like that.

"I have to admit Cloud, that's a pretty interesting theory and actually could be possible, but, I think your just being paranoid." he said with amusement heavily in his voice.

"You would say that," Cloud said with a seriousness in his eyes, "You and this whole world might be an illusion that Sephiroth made up, but even if I am wrong, I am still getting out of here."

"Well, good luck with that." he said unconvinced. "Well, I would love to stand here and chat all day about your Sephiroth theories but I have to go. Being the right hand is a busy job you know."

Jermaine reminded Cloud of the sarcastic and up themselves employers that helped Rufus run Shinra. Cloud gave him a look of loathing .

"No need to look at me like that Cloud. This is nothing personal, its just my job." he said with a grin.

"Personal or not you still enjoy it."

"I don't know where you got that idea from." he said in a not so serious tone, combing his hair back with his fingers.

Another cheer filled the cell block, getting both men's attention. Jermaine turned back to Cloud and said, "Before I go, the person fighting in the arena is going to be your cell mate. He was Perlaxes favouite until you came along." he said with a mischievous smile on his face

"And why are you telling me this?" he asked, wondering why Jermaine looked so happy about it.

"Oh, no reason. I just like to make sure our gladiators know the arrangements. Hmm, I think you both would be best friends in 'another world'." he said with the same mischievous grin. He turned away from cloud then began to walk towards where the arena was.

Cloud watched him as he walked down the cell corridor, suspecting there was a reason why Jermaine was smiling like he was just now. When he was out of sight Cloud decided that the time for questioning this place was over, now was the time to escape.

Cloud checked if there was anyone nearby and as far as Cloud could tell there wasn't. Cloud gripped the bars of his cell and began to test their strength by gently pushing and pulling them, trying not to attract any attention. Each time putting more effort in until he was trying as hard as he could and the bars still wouldn't move.

Cloud looked behind him and his eyes began to scan the cell, in the back lower corner he noticed a grating in the wall. He walked over to it, crouched down, pushed his fingers between the gaps in the grating then began to pull it gently, steadily increasing the effort he was putting in, but like the bars, the grating didn't move.

Cloud wasn't surprised these things didn't work. If they had then this prison would not be as good as Jermaine had made him believe. Cloud wanted to make sure though, that was definitely the case. Cloud realised he would have to try something far more risky and bold, then suddenly he just knew what he would do.

"Hey guard!" Cloud shouted. "I want you!"

After a few seconds the guard appeared and said "The favourite? What do you want?"

"I want to know why earlier you had the intention of 'cutting me in half' then as soon as the kings right hand turns up your too scared to open the cell door." This wasn't one of Cloud's usual tactics, he couldn't remember any other time he had done something like this, but this was an unusual situation.

"Shut up!" the guard responded loudly, raising his fist. "If he hadn't come at the right time to stop me then I would of."

"Really? I bet even if he hadn't come and told you off, you would of thought of some way not to go through with it." he said mockingly. "Admit it, your too afraid to hurt me."

"What! I'm not afraid of anything!"

"Sure your not. How a weakling like you became a soldier I will never know."

"Weak?!" he shouted with rage in his voice. "I'll show you weak." Without thinking the angry soldier didn't pull the sword from his back like Cloud had expected but instead pulled the firearm from his belt and aimed it at Cloud's head, taking Cloud completely by surprise. It looked like he was about to pull the trigger but the angry soldier turned his head towards the cell block and stared in that direction for a few seconds, turning back to Cloud he lowered his weapon.

"Firearms attract too much attention, it looks like you wont be getting a quick death after all. I'll have to slash you to death instead!" the soldier said in a excited tone, putting his firearm away.

Cloud was relieved, it may take more than a few shots to the head to kill Cloud but getting shot so many times in the head really hurts.

"Slash me to death huh?" Cloud doubted. "I bet you can't even swing that thing without it flying out of your hand."

"Just you wait until I get this door open, then I'll show you." he said, noisily making the keys clang on the keyring as he searched for Cloud's cell key.

After a moment he had found the key. He held it between his index and middle finger in front of his face as if it was a piece of buried treasure, making sounds that sounded almost like sniggers then hastily attempted to put the key in the door and missed the lock. getting it in the second time. Cloud took a few steps away from the door. The soldier turned the key and swung the cell door open.

"You asked for it prisoner!" he said loudly, as he took a step into the cell.

Although the soldier obviously had the intention to kill him, Cloud didn't look like he had any intention of defending himself. His arms weren't up like before and he was standing straight with his feet side by side.

"If you don't try and defend yourself I will still cut you into pieces you know? After what you said I wont show any mercy." he said, beginning to reach for the sword that was on his back.

As the soldier was about to touch the sword's hilt, Cloud jumped forward, surprising the soldier, and threw a big punch to his face, sending the soldier flying backwards to the ground and the impact knocking him out. Cloud took a few steps towards the inanimate soldier to see if he really was unconscious, keeping his arms up and his left foot in front of the other. When Cloud stood over the soldier, certain he had won, the soldier reached up and grabbed Cloud by his coat and pulled him down to him. Cloud managed to remove the soldiers grip from his coat by using a trick Tifa had taught him then lifted his right fist high and brought it down on the soldier's mask covered face with as much force as he could, raising his left fist he did the same again, then again with his right, then his left, then his right, then his left, each hit causing cracks to appear in the mask. After another several hits the soldier was defeated.

Cloud put the soldier over his shoulder, picked him up and carried him to the back of the cell. It wasn't the best hiding place but it would have to do. Cloud removed the sword from the soldier's back, putting it on his own. He moved to the doorway then poked his head round the door, taking care not to make his head too visible in case there were more soldiers nearby. The cell block was wide and didn't lack space. It had several floors of cells, making the ceiling very high. Both directions seemed to be clear of soldiers, the only question was which way to go? Cloud thought for a moment, trying to decide if it mattered, then he realised if he went towards the Arena Perlaxes and everyone there would see him trying to escape then he'd be more easily outnumbered. Cloud made his choice and began to sprint in the direction away from the arena.

As he ran through the block, he noted that the cell block, "looks like it goes on forever." but Cloud wasn't about to give up. Suddenly a three man group of soldiers appeared in the distance, standing in a lined side to side formation as if they were waiting for Cloud to escape. The block's length suddenly was the last of Cloud's worries.

The soldiers took their firearms from their belts and aimed at Cloud, readying themselves for when he is in range. Cloud pulled the sword from his back and readied himself. When he was in range the soldiers began to fire. Cloud swung quickly, blocking the incoming bullets. When Cloud was about to close in, the soldiers put their firearms back in their belts and reached for their swords, readying themselves. Cloud leapt high into the air towards the soldier on the left, lifting the sword above his head. The soldier blocked the incoming attack but the impact caused the sword to shatter. Cloud swung horizontally at the soldier before he could reach for his firearm, killing him. One of the two soldiers that was charging, swung an attack at Cloud. Cloud somersaulted backwards, avoiding the attack.

Both of the masked soldiers stared at Cloud helplessly. With determination in his eyes Cloud pointed his sword at them and said "You and Sephiroth can't hold me here, I will escape and stop him." Both soldiers glanced at each other, afraid and confused then began to run towards Cloud with their swords raised. They both stood on Cloud's left and right and began to attack fiercely and quickly but despite their strength and speed they were unable to get through Cloud's defence. Eventually Cloud saw an opening for the left soldier and hit him, just as he was midway through his next swing, the swing was so fast that the soldier didn't see the blade coming, he dropped to his knees holding his stomach where the sword had hit then died. Cloud blocked the incoming attack from the remaining soldier who hadn't stopped trying to get through Cloud's defence. Cloud parried his next attack and pushed the sword through the soldier's stomach. The soldier let out a moan, dropped his sword, fell to his knees and tried to push the sword out of him. Cloud pulled the sword out, almost feeling sorry for him. The soldier died immediately.

Cloud looked ahead of where he was going and ran. Less than a minute later there was another team of three. They were stronger than the last team. It took more than one swing to defeat each one and they were making Cloud work harder than before. The same thing happened a minute after he defeated the second team, they were stronger than the previous team he fought and they were able to get through his defence a few times. After Cloud had defeated them he was hurt but he was not in any real danger yet and continued with his escape. Team four were completely different. Not only were they stronger than the last group, they had fully powered elemental materia equipped too. Their tactic was for two of them to attack Cloud while one would cast elemental magic. When Cloud had won the battle he was beginning to feel weak. More than half of the strength he had when he began this escape was gone. Cloud thought back to what Jermaine said when he told him that he would escape. "That's what everyone has said, including the favourite and they have either died or are still imprisoned." Is this what he was talking about?

Cloud met another team yet again. They were more challenging than the last team. This time not only did they have Elemental materia, they had Time and All materia as well. When Cloud approached, one of them cast haste on the entire party and another cast slow on Cloud. By the end of the fight Cloud had been hit with magic and metal so many times that he knew if he had another fight like the last he would be done for. Cloud looked behind him, it didn't seem like he had made much progress since he had gotten out the cell. It made cloud want to despair but he couldn't, well, he could but he wouldn't, he had to get home no matter what it took, but he knew that he could not handle another battle. Cloud began to run again and it wasn't long until he saw another team up ahead. Cloud knew the risk but readied himself anyway while the soldiers pulled out their firearms.

Cloud was about to come into the soldiers range of fire, but then Cloud suddenly spun around and ran in the opposite direction. The soldiers open fired but it was no use, the gunfire would never reach him. Cloud felt like going to the arena now didn't seem so bad. He would go out there, run through the stands to the top, jump on to the roof and run to the edge and escape. It was a risk, there could be more soldiers out there but Cloud was out of options, it was a risk he would take.

As cloud neared the Arena he saw two guards ahead of him who were escorting a prisoner back to his cell. Was this Perlaxes last favourite? The prisoner and soldiers were also aware of Cloud's presence. The soldiers pulled their swords from their backs. As Cloud got closer the prisoner began to look familiar.

The prisoner was a muscular well built male with black spikey hair and blue eyes. Cloud gasped, realising he knew who this was. The prisoner was nearly as shocked to see him too. "C-cloud?" the prisoner asked sounding surprised and confused.

Cloud's eyes were so distracted he did not see the tall bulky man in front of him who had appeared out of nowhere and was running towards him. When Cloud saw the huge man it was too late. Cloud couldn't stop himself from what he was running into or react in time to counter the fist that was coming towards him. The punch hit Cloud in the stomach with such force Cloud legs came off the floor as his upper body went over the big man's arm. Cloud let out a quiet shout of pain then fell to the floor, beginning to lose consciousness. Other soldiers came and ran past the big man. When they saw Cloud they circled him, surrounding him. One of soldiers who was not circling Cloud reached up and patted the huge man on the shoulder, congratulating him. Cloud turned his head, leant back on the floor and stared up at the dark haired man he recognised in disbelief, he tried to say something, but the pain was too much to speak. As his eyes darkened his last thoughts as he became unconscious was about the soldier he thought was dead, Zack Fair.


End file.
